Full Moon in Cancer
Crossing the Threshold
Hello, ladies and gents! Did you think I’d given up on my writing endeavors now that I’ve begun podcasting? Nah, I’ll always be a writer, clackity-clacking away at my keyboard with a smile on my face. So let’s talk about this upcoming full moon in Cancer we have on January 13th/14th (depending on which neck of the woods you’re located). Lots of alignments occurring with this one and a tremendous intensity to be felt.
This full moon in Cancer is occurring at 23 degrees, 59 minutes of the sign of the crab, and as mentioned in my Challenging Your Truth podcast, the Moon will be conjunct with retrograde Mars. That in and of itself has a very powerful effect on us, particularly our emotions. The Moon does, after all, rule Cancer, so this event is very much within the Moon’s wheelhouse of emotional release, inner security, and past conditioning.
However, there’s so much more going on that gives this lunar event even greater oomph. We’re getting a lot of bang for our buck, so long as we are poised to slow down, feel, reflect and release. The Sun will be in Capricorn, but it is close to Pluto-in-Aquarius, forming a conjunction and bridging these two energies together, once again, as I discussed in my most recent podcast. So all the themes mentioned then are prominent now, and I highly recommend giving it a listen if you haven’t yet.
Those mentioned aspects are enough to bring the power to this period, but there is yet more occurring within this window of time. We actually have what is known as a grand sextile happening amongst all the water and earth signs during this full moon. Now, these degrees are not exact, but they are close enough for the energies to be felt. As a reminder, a grand sextile occurs when six planets align in complementary elements, forming a chain of sextiles. This also appears as a Star of David pattern as there are naturally three grand trines within the pattern. On a higher level, we could see this as a Merkabah, which holds big spiritual connotations.
The planets forming this auspicious pattern include: retrograde Mars and the Moon conjunct in Cancer forming a sextile to the South Node newly in Virgo; the South Node forms a sextile to Juno in Scorpio, which then sextiles the Sun in Capricorn; the Sun conjunct Pluto sextiles Neptune conjunct the North Node in Pisces which then sextiles Uranus conjunct Mary Magdalena in Taurus; finally this last pair completes the circle (or Merkabah) by forming a final sextile to the Moon and Mars. Wow!
There’s a lot that can be said if we were to dive into all the different components of this configuration, but let’s stick with the most prominent themes. We’ve already discussed the significance of the Pluto-Mars opposition (again, see my podcast) and within that discussion it was mentioned that there would be a release of lower-octave emotional patterns alongside this full moon illumination. What I would like to draw your attention to now are those lunar nodes.
Not only are the nodes prominent now because they are inherently connected to the Moon’s energies, but they have just recently changed signs, which is sure to be felt. What’s more, they each sit at that anaretic, 29 degree point. There is some powerful influence to be felt there! While we are still bridging the gap from their previous position of Aries/Libra, we are now receiving a new set of lessons (energies) to work with within the axis of Virgo/Pisces. Having the ruler of Pisces, Neptune, conjunct the North Node further underscores this energy.
I also want to mention that apart from this grand sextile aspect pattern, we also have retrograde Jupiter-in-Gemini forming a trine with Ceres-conjunct-Chariklo in Aquarius. Why is this significant? Apart from bringing up those Aquarius themes I mentioned in my podcast, Ceres is a co-ruler of Virgo alongside Mercury, which also rules Gemini. What this equates to, in a nutshell, is we are doing some deep shadow work as we confront the mental conditioning patterns of our past which impact our sense of stability and security within the now.
This is the energy of Virgo. It is an earth sign, yet ruled by Mercury, so it takes that mental energy and grounds it in a practical way. The urge of Virgo is to sort and eliminate (it rules our digestive system). Virgo seeks perfection and in its highest expression, it grounds into the wholeness and completion of itself so that it can be of service to others. Symbolic of the harvest, it is the energy of reaping the nourishment of the wheat after separating it from the chaff.
From this lens, we must discern what are the useful “pieces,” whether that’s components of ourselves, our relationships or other dimensions of our lives. We, thus, also discern what is no longer serving us so we can eliminate it in order to boost the perfection of the useful parts. However, the shadow of Virgo lies in perfection-obsession overanalysis. We never feel perfect enough, good enough or whole enough because we are so laser-focused on what needs to be eliminated. Virgo becomes overly critical at this point and often projects that self-criticism onto others. Suddenly, no one and nothing is good enough. So how does one achieve a sense of wholeness and security within one’s self if we are constantly focused on the ever-present imperfections?
The answer lies in Virgo’s opposite sign, Pisces, which views the world from a holistic lens and is willing to accept all with unconditional love and compassion, regardless of imperfections. Pisces’ shadow is that it is not discerning enough and sometimes accepts the unacceptable, often wounding or sacrificing itself in the process. This is why each of these signs needs the other in order to find balance. The goal then is to ground into the self via Virgo while dispersing outward into the love and generosity of Pisces. Much like the flower which springs forth from the earth. The roots go deep so the flower can be poised from a position of security and strength before it blossoms into its fullness, sharing its beauty and grace with the world.
So we have Mercury ruling Virgo, but it also rules Gemini, and currently Jupiter is retrograde in Gemini and aspecting the other ruler of Virgo, goddess asteroid Ceres. Ceres helps us to work with the shadow aspects of Virgo, releasing what no longer serves while simultaneously recognizing the “belongingness” of what has been released. While the chaff is not edible and must be separated from the wheat at the time of harvest, it also serves the purpose of protecting the wheat as it grows. Thus, everything has a place, everything belongs, including the darker aspects of existence such as grief, sorrow and death (Ceres also connects to Pluto).
How does Jupiter factor into all of this? If you want to explore the role of Jupiter-in-Gemini deeper, please see my previously written article on this topic. For now, I’ll mention that Jupiter is gregarious, generous and expansive. It wants to share its abundance with others, and particularly being in Gemini, it wants to share ideas, knowledge and perspectives. Jupiter’s shadow lies in overextension. It has a BIG presence and sometimes can overshadow the little guy or step on the toes of the more sensitive. Through its retrograde phase we are revisiting and reexamining how we share information and how that information influences our perspectives. What is truth, what is illusion, and which do we choose to manifest in our reality?
For both Mercury and Gemini, these are signs which embody the brilliance of the mind. However, the mind, devoid of heart, functions neurotically and can actually confuse itself within the deluge of information. While the realm of thoughts, mind and communication is often associated with the archetype of the sword (such as in the Tarot), the real wielder of the Sword of Truth is the heart. It is able to discern truth instantaneously through feeling, transcending thoughts and words altogether. While we may swing the sword to cut through lies with our words and perceptions via the mind, the heart is what plucks the sword from its stone to begin with.
Of course, the heart can become imbalanced as well when we are consumed with lower octave emotions. Thus, we come full circle back to Cancer and this full moon. Retrograde Mars (having just left Leo) has been showing us the truth of our hearts and now that it has backtracked into Cancer, we are getting into touch with our emotional selves to merge these two realms of consciousness. Through Cancer we are uncovering our inner security needs through the experience of our emotions, both positive and negative.
As we know, full moons embody the principles of culmination, illumination and release, so it is through this full moon in Cancer that light is being shed on our darker emotional patterns. We must then discern if these patterns are truly serving us in the now or if they are merely echoes of our past conditioning. What does not bring us into our highest potential needs to be released. This will help us redefine our emotional boundaries (reworking those which are too rigid and reinforcing those which nurture our sense of safety) so that we can continue to wield our Swords of Truth from a place of stability.
Each of us has something unique to share with others, with the world. What we share contributes to this overarching ascension process as we each spark a light within ourselves that serves the encompassing radiance of the collective. For us to share what we know, perceive, and whatever gifts we hold, we must ground ourselves in a place of physical and emotional stability first. This means releasing what no longer serves and recognizing what is missing to create this security.
Ultimately, we are standing upon a threshold in our current now time of collective energies. This is a moment of transition, which can be observed through Mars’ opposition to the Sun, marking the halfway point within its retrograde cycle. From this point on, Mars treks through its underworld journey now carrying the torch of illumination. This new spark of consciousness (also witnessed through Uranus’ sextile to Mars/the Moon) is what will redefine our journey as we move forward. Each of us, as mentioned in my Chiron podcast, is receiving a Call to Adventure. That is, we are being prompted into positions of leadership or authority (Sun in Capricorn) that correlate with our spiritual mission. Once again, all of this emotional release, contemplation, and cultivation of inner security serves to strengthen us so we can step into these new roles, which lay just beyond the threshold.
This leadership will look different for each of us. What does being a leader mean to you? How can you embody this archetype in your own life? Perhaps some of you will be stepping into the public arena to share your unique gifts from a position of dignity and strength (Capricorn). Perhaps others will emanate this energy in more subtle ways as you navigate the dynamics of your daily life. Capricorn leads by example, so we are each being asked to do what is necessary (self-work) so that we are operating from our most optimal, aligned, authentic self. As we take on this burden, this challenge, and step up to do what is needed, we shift into greater alignment with our most organic timeline, assisting our own sense of fulfillment as we support the collective.
Happy full moon!
If you found this article helpful, please consider supporting my work by sharing it widely, making a donation, subscribing, booking a reading or following me on social media. Links are posted below. Thank you!